See important guidance on the use of this record.

If you have any comments or new information about this record, please email us.

Summary

Voluntary School established in 1835 in the village; is now the village hall. Served the community until 1946, when the school was closed.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX76NW/229

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• VOLUNTARY SCHOOL (Constructed, XIX - 1835 AD to 1835 AD (Between))
• VILLAGE HALL (XX - 1946 AD to 1999 AD (Between))

Full description

Devon County Council, 1838-1848, Tithe Mosaic, approximately 1838-1848 (Cartographic). SDV349431.

Building depicted on the Tithe Map.

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'School' indicated on the late 19th century historic map.

Ordnance Survey, 1963-1996, 1963-1996 National Grid OS Metric (Cartographic). SDV350058.

'Hall' is indicated on the Ordnance Survey 6 inch (1963) historic map.

Stanbrook, M., 1991, Old Dartmoor Schools Remembered, 45-53 (Monograph). SDV359884.

The village hall in Holne was originally the school, which was established in 1835 as a Voluntary School. At this time it was somewhat smaller than it is now and had a thatched roof. Details of early teachers provided. The school was rather cramped and in 1892 a partition was put up to provide a small, separate area for the infants. In 1897, the thatched roof was replaced with slate. From 1907 to 1914 Mrs Caroline Bray was headmistress and there followed a seven-year long feud with the Vicar, the Reverend John Gill, who had a large amount of control over supplies and changes at the school. One of the biggest problems was heating and the Vicar blocked the fixing/ replacement of the stove for several years. Mrs Bray was prevailed upon to resign in 1914 and the vicar died in May 1917; after this time, things at the school improved markedly. In 1923 it was suggested that older children should be sent to Coombe School, but this was resisted by the managers.
Around 1926, the playground was extended and new entrance lobby and cloakroom were also provided. In 1936, a further proposal suggested the senior children should be transferred to the school at Buckfastleigh. Again, this was resisted as there were fears about the break up of village life. Influxes of refugees in 1940 and 1944, boosted the pupil numbers so much that an extra room was required and provided in the tithe barn (and later in the village hut; where 'Higher Butts' now stands). The school eventually closed in summer 1946.

Ordnance Survey, 2016, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV359352.

'Hall' is depicted on the modern mapping.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.